The summer of beef recalls continues, with the creatively named Beef Packers recalling 826,000 pounds of ground beef linked to salmonella illnesses in the western U.S.

In case you missed the previous months:

• May: Valley Meats – 96,000 pounds (E. coli)
• June: JBS Swift – 421,280 pounds (E. coli)
• July: King Soopers – 466,236 pounds (Salmonella)
• August: Beef Packers – 826,000 pounds (Salmonella)

This month’s recall is particularly disturbing because the illnesses are associated with an antibiotic-resistant strain of Salmonella known as Salmonella Newport, making treatment more difficult.

Remember, meat inspection and recalls are the responsibility of the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture, not the FDA, so the food safety legislation that recently passed the House would do nothing to improve the USDA, which has more funding and fewer products to police, and is generally viewed as the better functioning of the two agencies. Hooray.
[Consumer Reports Safety]
(Photo: spencer hughes)

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